The Greek debt crisis directly hit the local cement industry on Tuesday 30 June 2015 when Titan Cement reported that it was unable to pay a dividend to its shareholders. The leading local cement producer blamed the capital controls introduced by the government.

It is worth looking at the effects on the domestic cement industry as the Eurozone bureaucracy and the Greek government play 'chicken' with each other while Greece starts the default process, having failed to pay the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) payment on 30 June 2015. Greece will now join a group, possibly even more select than the European Union, of countries that have failed to pay back the IMF, including current defaulters like Sudan and Zimbabwe.

A better comparison might be made with Argentina which defaulted upon its foreign debts in 2001. Its construction industry fell by 12% year-on-year in 2001 and by a further 30% in 2002. Cement consumption and cement production utilisation rates hit 23% in 2002. One key difference with Greece is that the country has had major financial difficulties for far longer than Argentina. Argentina ran into financial depression in 1998 and defaulted in 2001. Greece ran into financial trouble following the 2008 financial crisis and then received its first bailout in 2010.

As Titan reported in its first quarter results for 2015, its Greek market has been dependent on road building. In February 2014 Titan Cement reported its first improved operating results in seven years followed by profit in 2014 as a whole. The other major cement producers, Lafarge subsidiary Heracles General Cement and Italcementi subsidiary Halyps Cement, reported an improved construction market in 2014 with rising cement volumes. However, it was noted by Lafarge that it was developing exports to 'optimise kiln utilisation.' Titan also noted the benefits of exports in its first quarter report for 2015, focusing on a strengthening US Dollar versus the Euro. Given on-going events, one suspects there is going to be a lot more 'development' of this kind.

To set some sense of scale of the crisis Jim O'Neill, former head of economics at Goldman Sachs, famously calculated that, at the height of its growth, China created an economy the size of Greece's every three months. What happens next is down to the crystal balls of economists, although the path of least resistance now seems to be pointing at further default, departure from the Eurozone and Euro and further significant financial pain for Greece.

It looks likely that the local construction market will stay subdued and exports will offer a lifeline. How much the EU is prepared to let Greece default on its bills and then try and undercut its own over-capacity cement industries remains to be seen. However, since the main cement producers in Greece are all multinational outfits, it will afford them some flexibility in their strategy in coping with the fallout. Meanwhile a cement production capacity of around 14Mt/yr for a population of 11m suggests over capacity by European standards. If exports can't help then the situation looks grim.

Kenya: According to Business Daily, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has renewed its efforts to recruit a new COO after the candidates who applied to fill the new position in August 2014 'fell short' of the required qualifications. EAPCC has now re-advertised the position, which is expected to strengthen its governance structure.

The Athi River-based manufacturer first sought to recruit a COO and CFO in 2014 through consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers. Kephar Tande, the company's managing director, said that the board deemed the applicants to be unqualified. "The first attempt in 2014 did not yield a suitable candidate from the shortlisted four, hence this new advertisement," said Tande. "This position is primarily required to improve the efficiency of our supply chain to make the company more competitive. We expect the position to be filled by August 2015."

EAPCC's current management executive structure is made up of heads of sections and divisions like financial management, research and development, internal audit and risk management, as well as strategy performance improvement. The new COO will be responsible for cement production operations, production engineering, product research and development, as well as sales and marketing.

EAPPC has not said whether it will re-advertise the CFO job, also a new position. The CFO is expected to streamline financial management at the company, which has recently faced accusations of having reported inaccurate accounts. "The position of CFO will be filled as soon as internal procedures are completed," said Tande.

India: Lafarge India has appointed Ujjwal Batria as CEO of the company effective from 22 June 2015. Batria will take over the responsibility from Martin Kriegner, who has been named as area manager for Central Europe of LafargeHolcim.

The development comes shortly before the expected completion of the LafargeHolcim merger. The Indian Competition Commission of India (CCI) has already approved the Indian leg of the proposed merger, with certain provisions, including divestment of two cement plants; Lafarge's plants at Jojobera, Jharkhand and Sonadih, Chhattisgarh. The two plants have a combined capacity of 5.15Mt/yr. Holcim's business in India is run through ACC and Ambuja Cements. It is not clear what Batria's role will be in the merged LafargeHolcim entity. Since ACC and Ambuja Cements are public listed firms, Lafarge's Indian unit may continue to operate separately, at least to begin with.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of Lafarge India, Batria was managing director of the company and was managing its cement business. He has been with Lafarge for 16 years. He had joined the company in 1999 and has served on different position across functions since then.

Togo: Four people were killed when a fuel tank exploded at the West African Cement (WACEM) plant in Tabligbo, the country's security minister has announced.

"Six workers were carrying out welding work on the roof of the tank when the tragedy happened. A total of four people died," said Colonel Yark Damehame to AFP. The explosion left one worker seriously injured and in intensive care. Another worker, an Indian national, is missing and a search is underway according to local media. A staff representative at the plant, Emmanuel Montcho, said that the Indian national was the foreman and that 13 workers in total had been working to repair the tank before the explosion.

Brazil: Magnesita Refratários has announced an agreement with ACIS, a cement maintenance and operations service company based in China and Saudi Arabia, to extend its services offering Magnesita's refractory products supporting greenfield projects around the world. ACIS and Magnesita will target Chinese cement original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which are building projects in countries primarily outside of China. The cooperation started on 1 July 2015 and shall continue for three years, with a possible extension.

"Partnering with ACIS which is recognised within the cement industry for its technical and service capability, is an important step for Magnesita's continued growth within the industrial market. This alliance with ACIS will help clients control costs utilising Magnesita's high-quality refractory products as new cement plants are commissioned," said Magnesita CEO, Octavio Lopes.

ACIS will create a commercial team in China tp focus on clients and the development of new projects while Magnesita's technical assistance team will work closely with ACIS to provide application and engineering support.

Greece: According to Reuters, Greece's Titan Cement has postponed its 2014 dividend payment, due on 1 July 2015, because of the bank holiday announced by the Greek government on 28 June 2015. "There will be a new announcement regarding the new date and the method of payment," said Titan Cement about the dividend.

Italy: According to Dow Jones, Sika has acquired the remaining shares of the Italian-based Addiment Italia from its joint venture partner Buzzi Unicem. Addiment Italia, founded in 2003, is active in the production and sale of concrete admixtures and cement grinding aids. The transaction will strengthen Sika's production set up in Italy and increase its market presence. Addiment Italia generated sales of Euro14m in 2014.

"The cooperation between Buzzi Unicem and Sika as joint venture partners of Addiment Italia has continued effectively for more than twelve years, with good understanding of the common goals and management decisions that led to great results for both employees and shareholders. We hope that our future business relationship will continue with the same long-lasting success," said Buzzi Unicem's co-CEO Pietro Buzzi.

"The acquisition will allow us to further build upon the successful partnership between Buzzi Unicem and Sika in the admixture business worldwide and strengthen the operational footprint in Italy. We welcome the new employees on board and look forward to developing the business together," said Paul Schuler, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region head.

Vietnam: Vietnam is estimated to have produced 32.1Mt of cement in the first half of 2015, up by 10.5% year-on-year, including 6Mt in June, up by 26.8% year-on-year, according to the government-run General Statistics Office.

In the first five months of 2015, Vietnam produced 26.1Mt of cement, compared to the earlier estimated 26.6Mt, according to the office's revised figure. The country's cement and clinker sales are expected to rise by 1.5 - 4% year-on-year to 72 – 74Mt in 2015, of which domestic sales will rise by 4.5 - 6.5% to 53 – 54Mt, while exports will be 19 – 20Mt.

Kenya: According to The Star (Kenya), a reforestation drive is targeting the counties of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale to achieve the internationally-recommended 10% forest cover.

Bamburi Cement has embarked on a campaign that will see 1.5 million trees planted at the coast by May 2016. It has provided 500,000 tree seedlings to each of the three county governments to do so. "We need to create a culture where the re-planting of trees is practised to avoid environmental degradation," said plant manager Peter Gibendi. He added that Kenya's coastal forests, though fragmented and small, are of critical important to the country.

US: Ash Grove Cement Company has announced that its Louisville, Nebraska, plant manager John Dale has signed an agreement extending the use of an on-site building to Nebraska Wildlife Rehab Inc (NWRI). The agreement provides the rescue centre space at US$10/yr.

"We are happy to provide a home to the centre's staff and volunteers and the orphaned and injured wildlife they care for," said Dale. "The group offers an important service to the state of Nebraska."

Ash Grove first made the 4500ft2 building available to NWRI in 2010. The building provides a facility for the staff and volunteers to manage the hotline and conduct animal rehabilitation, education, training and fundraising. It typically sees more than 2000 animals each year.

"This facility has allowed NWRI to grow to serve our community and to help exponentially more people and wild animals," said NWRI executive director Laura Stastny. "We have been honored to partner with Ash Grove since 2010 and are grateful for their generosity in their donation of the use of the building for our wildlife centre."

India: According to the Deccan Herald, JSW Cement plans to start four more greenfield grinding plants, two each in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, as part of its plan to grow its cement and clinker capacities to 20Mt/yr by 2018.

JSW Cement director and CEO Anil Kumar Pillai said that the company expects cement demand growth in its current fiscal year, which ends on 30 September 2015 and will gain pace in the next fiscal year. "The government's new infrastructure-led industrialisation plan will really boost cement demand. Already analysts have predicted a double-digit GDP growth rate, which will give a 15% hike in cement demand," said Pillai.

The greenfield projects are part of JSW Cement's US$1.41bn investment plan. "Each of the projects will have an investment of US$54.8 – 62.6m. In Tamil Nadu, we have identified one location at Tuticorin and the other will be near Puducherry. It will take 36 months to commission the units. Funds for these projects will be raised via internal accrual and bank borrowings," said Pillai.

JSW Cement is looking for land in West Bengal and will announce the details soon. The company has production plants in Vijayanagar and Bellari in Karnataka, Dolvi in Maharashtra and Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. JSW Cement has achieved 55% of its production capacity in the last fiscal year. "In the last fiscal year, we produced 3.2Mt of cement and we have set a target of 4.2Mt in the current fiscal year. We expect to achieve 65% capacity utilisation once growth momentum gains in the third and fourth quarter," said Pillai.

Regarding industry rumours that JSW Cement is in the race to acquire Lafarge's cement assets in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Pillai said that the company was open to inorganic growth and will not go for exports.

Meanwhile, JSW Cement is installing a 10MW power plant that uses waste gas in Nandyal. "JSW Cement has committed US$15.7m of investment for this project and it will be commissioned within 12 to 14 months," said Pillai.

India: JK Cement has received the necessary approval to make Jaykaycem (Central) its wholly-owned subsidiary by acquiring 100% of the paid up equity capital. The JK Cement board of directors approved the move on 26 June 2015.

The US$94m purchase agreement was announced on 29 April 2015. NSOSPE is jointly-owned by Semapa and Portuguese construction materials supplier Secil. Following the closure of the transaction, Semapa and Secil indirectly own the entire share capital of Supremo Cimentos.

South Africa: According to Business Day, Sephaku Cement is ramping up production towards a steady state at both its Delmas and Aganang plants.

In the first three months of 2015 to 31 March 2015, Sephaku Cement's revenue increased by 36%, while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 39% to US$11.3m. Its operating profit grew by 44% to US$8.87m and its profit after tax grew by 57% to US$3.83m. Sales revenues came mainly from the Delmas plant, which reached steady state production in November 2014. Clinker and cement production at Aganang started in August 2014 and October 2014, respectively.

"We are pleased to have commenced clinker production at Aganang because it has improved our cost efficiencies and enabled Sephaku to remain highly competitive," said CEO Lelau Mohuba.

Sephaku Cement's market penetration continued, as reflected by 29% higher quarterly sales of about US$42.4m. "Our main focus going forward is to sweat the assets and increase free cash flows in preparation for the distribution of dividends," added Mohuba. Sephaku said that the operating environment remained highly competitive, as overall cement demand remained flat and the number of producers had increased. Subdued demand from South Africa's construction industry also resulted in prices remaining flat on a year-on-year basis.

Oman: According to the Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Oman Cement has said that due to operational difficulties, it has had to prolong the shutdown of a 4000t/day kiln for planned maintenance. CEO Jamal al Hooti said that the closure has resulted in lower production and sales in recent months, which has had an impact on company performance during the current quarter.

Canada: McInnis Cement and the St Elzear Forestry Cooperative Association (ACF) have signed a cooperative agreement to study the feasibility of using forest biomass as an auxiliary fuel for the cement plant under construction in Port-Daniel-Gascons.

The utilisation of forest biomass as an alternative fuel would enable the McInnis cement plant to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). McInnis Cement has provided the equipment necessary for the use of alternative fuels at its new cement plant.

"We are pleased to establish this collaboration with the region's forest industry in line with our GHG reduction plan," said Christian Gagnon, president and CEO of McInnis Cement. "Any operations that result from this agreement will be reviewed by the Environmental Committee, whose work began in April 2015," he added.

Forest biomass is a fuel source in abundant supply in Gaspé. McInnis Cement requires a local long-term quality source of supply at competitive costs. The St Elzear ACF is able to supply forest residues, wood chips, sawdust, shavings and bark.

"By studying the possibilities together, including from the outset the client's needs and the capabilities of potential suppliers, we are putting all the pieces in place to make this project a reality," said Sebastien Roy, executive director of the St Alzear ACF. "The success of a fruitful partnership between McInnis and our organisation would be a big boost to our industry. The situation is complex since, beyond availability, supply sources need to be guaranteed over the long-term and quality and prices must remain competitive, including product transportation and processing costs."

Egypt: According to Reuters, Arabian Cement Company has commissioned new alternative fuel processing machinery at its plant in Suez.

The state-of-the-art FLSmidth HOTDISCTM allows Arabian Cement's plant to rely completely on coal and alternative fuels to run its operations. Moreover, it enables the plant to operate its kilns using alternative fuel materials directly, without the need to pre-treat them. Arabian Cement now has a designed fuel mix of 70% coal and 30% alternative fuels. The alternative fuel that will be used will be a mixture of agricultural wastes, municipal sludge and refuse-derived fuels (RDF). Alternative fuel use is expected to result in around 60,000t/yr of reduced CO2 emissions.

Philippines: The Manila Bulletin has reported that the capacity utilisation of local cement plants has increased to 85% from 68% in 2014 due to strong domestic construction activities, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

DTI undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba said that there is enough cement supply to meet demand. He added that the Philippines had 31.3Mt/yr of cement production capacity in 2014, when consumption was 21.3Mt, or 68%. At present, however, plant capacity utilisation has reached 85%.

The increase in demand in the Visayas and Mindanao areas in the past two weeks was to pre-empt the onset of the rainy season. Dimagiba said that, even though there are cement plants in these regions, there is a huge logistical challenge in the transport of cement to the islands. He added that should local demand in these regions exceed production, imports could augment the shortfall.

India: According to Finalaya News, Mauritius Debt Management has sold a 0.65% stake in Saurashtra Cement for US$210,807. It sold 330,000 shares at an average price of US$0.63 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Egypt/Sudan: According to Daily News Egypt, Qalaa Holding for Investment has signed an agreement with Financial Holding International (FHI) to sell FHI some of Qalaa's units. This is in line with Qalaa's aim to exit from some of its non-basic businesses and to reduce its consolidated debts of US$105m.

Qalaa will sell FHI its stakes in MENA Homes, Grandview and Dina Farms Land Companies, which will be separated from Dina for Agricultural Investments. In return, Qalaa will buy FHI's stakes in several affiliated companies, including cement producer ASEC Holding, as well as Taqa Arabia and Mashreq Petroleum in the energy sector. Qalaa will also buy FHI's stakes in Nile Logistics International in the Transport and logistics sector, Dina Farms Supermarkets in the retail sector and United Company for Foundries (UCF) in the metallurgical industry sector. The deal is expected to be finalised by December 2015, after the customary conditions and requirements are met.

Abdallah El-Ebiary, managing director of Qalaa's cement division, said that the cement sector is a main strategic area for Qalaa and that it has no intention of exiting it, nor the transport and energy sectors. He added that FHI plans to build a new pulveriser mill at the ASEC Cement plant in Minya, Egypt within the company's plan to convert to alternative energy due to the energy deficit and gas crisis. The cost will be US$30.2m and it will be built in the fourth quarter of 2015. "The company's strategy for the next period is to diversify to new and cheap energy sources instead of the traditional and unavailable sources. The investment cost is at US$30.2m, with US$1.31m for a pulveriser mill and US$11.8m for alternative fuel production," said El-Ebiary.

Qalaa also plans to increase the production capacity of its Takamol cement plant in Sudan from 430,000t/yr to 800,000t/yr in 2016. Qalaa aims to establish a new coal mine for the plant. The plant is 51% owned by ASEC Cement and 49% controlled by the Sudanese Social Security Investment Authority (SSIA), the entity that manages all pension funds in Sudan.